Tennis racket display rack

ABSTRACT

The tennis racket display rack is supported horizontally from a perforated panel and has a plurality of skewed racket support bays for supporting adjacent racket heads parallel to each other and offset from each other for exposing a portion of the face of each racket. Each of the bays is formed by cooperation of portions of adjacent L-shaped bars spot welded into a unitary structure. The rack permits the displayed rackets to face either right or left as desired.

United States Patent 1191 Kinard June 4, 1974 [54] TENNIS RACKETDISPLAY'RACK FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [75] mentor: WilliamKinard, Pasadena Calif 416,832 0/1910 France 211/123 [73] Assignee:Relton Corporation, Arcadia, Calif.

Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier [22] Flled' 1972 AssistantExaminerThomas J. Holko [21] Appl. No.: 235,682 Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Christie, Parker & Hale [52] US. Cl 211/13, 211/106, 248/D1G. 3 ACT[51] hi. Cl. A47f 7/00 Th tennis racket display rack is Supportedhoriz0n [58] Field of Search 211/106, 105.], 60 J, 60 R, tally from aperforated panel and has a plurality of 211/181, 60 14; skewed racketsupport bays for supporting adjacent 248/DIG- 3 racket heads parallel toeach other and offset from each other for exposing a portion of the faceof each References Cited racket. Each of the bays is formed bycooperation of UNITED STATES PATENTS portions of adjacent L-shaped barsspot welded into a 100,443 7/1936 Sherrick 21 1/181 ux unitary StructureThe c perm ts the displayed rack- 1,031,595 7/1912 Taber 211/181 X etsto face either right or left as desired. 3,361,266 1/1968 Wi 11i a n....221/113 X 3,481,487 12/1969 P21111010 248/D1G. 3 l5 Clalms 3 DrawmgFlgllres' 1 TENNIS RACKET DISPLAY RACK BACKGROUND At present tennisrackets are displayed in pro shops, sporting goods stores and the likein a haphazard manner. A few rackets may be displayed on individual pegsor pairs of pegs on the wall. If thereare only a very few rackets thismay be satisfactory. Most sporting goods stores, however, carry a largestock of tennis rackets to satisfy the wishes of a variety of tennisplayers. Thus, for example, in a sporting goods store a number ofmanufacturers may be representedand within each line of rackets theremay be variations in weight and balance. Most shops carry both metal andwood frame rackets and there may be a variety of stringing materials, aswell as unstrung rackets which are strung to order. With all of thesepossible variations, a sporting goods store or pro shop may have far toomany rackets to display individually.

One display technique that has been used employs long pegs fastened tothe wall or to a pegboard fastened on the wall. A single peg may extendbetween the strings and support the racketsby the tops of their frames.In other arrangements a pair of' adjacent pegs span the upper end of thehandle and support the lower end of the head of the rackets, with thehandles hanging down.

Either of these arrangements is unsatisfactory since several rackets aretypically displayed on each peg or pair of pegs. This means that if acustomerwishes to examine any racket except the one in front, all of theoverlying rackets must be removed to reach it. This is not onlyinconvenient to the customer or shopkeeper but it might also lead todamage if several rackets are removed and some are dropped due to aninability to hold four or five rackets at the same time. Even if nodamage occurs to the rackets, the customer may be discouraged frombuying if he thinks that the racket he is about to purchase has beentreated in a similar manner. Another disadvantage of the storage anddisplay of rackets in a series on a peg of pegs is-that only theoutermost racket is exposed to the view of. the customer. Either thecustomer fails to recognize the various styles of racket available orsubstantially all of the rackets must be removed from the pegs just tosee what the stock actually is.

' Because of this it is desirable to provide a tennis racket displayrack suitable for a large number of tennis rackets or the like thatpermits viewing and access to any individual tennis racketwithoutdisturbing the others in the display.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thus in practice of this inventionaccording to a presently preferred embodiment there is provided a tennisracket display rack having an elongated support meminhibiting removal ofa racket from the bay unless it is partly lifted from its displayposition.

DRAWINGS better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription of a presently preferred embodiment when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1. illustrated in plan view a tennis racket display rackconstructed according to principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of another embodiment of tennis racketdisplay rack; an

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of another embodiment of tennis racketdisplay rack.

DESCRIPTION FIG. 1. illustrates in plan view a tennis racket displayrack constructed according to principles of this invention. Asillustratedin this presently preferred embodiment the display rack has aone-fourth inch diameter bar 6 extending along the length thereof, thisbar can be any arbitrary length but is typically about three to fourfeet long. Transverseto the long support bar 6 are a plurality ofmounting bars 7. In a typical embodiment four such mounting bars arespot welded to the support bar and conveniently these are also onefourthinch bars. A sleeve 8 is brazed on to each of the mounting bars 7 at theend opposite from the support bar 6. The other end of the sleeve istapped and an L-shapcd bolt 9 is threaded into the sleeve.

A perforated panel mounting bracket 11 is spot welded to the L-shapedbolt 9. The perforated panel mounting bracket 11 has a pair of parallelupstanding legs 12 of about one-eighthinch diameter. When the tennisracket display rack is used, the legs 12Iwhich are one inch apart fitthrough the holes in a conventional Pegboard perforated panel and thefoot 13 of the L- shaped bolt 9 bears against the face of the perforatedpanel for supporrting the rack in a conventional manner. In theillustration of FIG. 1, the L-shaped bolts and mounting brackets arerotated in the threaded sleeve in difierent positions to most clearlyillustrate these elements. When the display rack is mounted all of thelegs 12 are parallel to each other.

The combination of an L-shaped bolt threaded into the sleeve permits themounting brackets to be rotatably adjusted so that the. rack can bepositioned with either face up. The rack illustrated in the embodimentof FIG. 1 is asymmetrical and as illustrated can be considered to belefthanded, since the rackets displayed thereon are best viewed from theleft. By reversing the mounting brackets and inverting the rack itbecomes righthanded. The display rack is therefore quite versatile andcan be mounted in any desired position in a sporting goods shop for themost advantageous display of the tennis rackets. It will be apparentthat the L- shaped bolts threaded into a sleeve do not form the onlymeans for rotatablyadjusting the perforated panel mounting brackets.Thus, for example, a headed shaft rotatable in a. surrounding sleeve maybe suitable.

On the opposite side of the support bar 6 from the mounting bars 7 are aplurality of L-shaped bars 16. The crook 17 between the leg 18 and base19 of each of the L-shaped bars is spot welded to the side of thesupport bar. The end of the base 19 of each of the legs underlaps (oroverlaps if the rack is inverted) a midportion of the leg 18 of theadjacent L-shaped bar 16 and is spot welded thereto. At the end of theleg 18 of each of the L-shaped bars 16 is a spherical bead 21 which maybe brazed or spot welded in place or, if desired, upset from the baritself. At the end of the rack the final L-shaped bar has a short,straight segment 22 welded to the end of the base 19 and extendingparallel to the leg of the L-shaped bar.

The series of L-shaped bars 16 extending along the length of the supportmember 6 define a plurality of 1 tennis racket support bays on thedisplay rack. When the rack is used the handle of a racket is placed inthe support bay and the bottom portion of the head rests on the parallellegs 18 of a pair of adjacent L-shaped bars 16 with the handle hangingdown. Thus the bay is formed by the inside of one of the L-shaped barsand a portion of the outside of the adjacent L-shaped bar. The head ofthe racket lies parallel to the base 19 of the L-shaped bar forming twoof the three sides of the bay. By inside of the L is meant that portionin the plane of the L subtended by the angle between the base and legless than 180 and the outside is the portion opposite the angle greaterthan 180.

The angle between the leg 18 and the base 19 of each of the L-shapedbars is 90 and the bars are welded to the support member so that boththe leg and base make a 45 angle therewith; thus when tennis rackets arehung on the display rack, the heads are skewed relative to the length ofthe support member 6 at an angle of 45. The heads are also offset fromeach other by about the width of the bays and therefore a portion of theface of each of the rackets and the handle of each of, the rackets isexposed to the customer. If desired alternate bays canbe used to exposemore of the face of each racket.

The beads 21 on the ends of the legs 18 provide a minor obstruction atthe open end of the bay. This obstruction is, however, sufficient toinhibit removal of a racket from the bay unless it is lifted slightly topass over the bead. The bead also prevents damage to rackets which mightarise from sharp edges. It will be noted that the spherical bead issymmetrical so that if the rack is used in either its righthanded orlefthanded positions, the rackets are still prevented from inadvertentlybeing dislodged from the rack.

When it is desired to examine one of the rackets in the rack it is onlynecessary to grip the handle and lift the racket slightly when bringingit forward to clear the bead at the end of the leg.,It is also desirableto twist the racket somewhat so that its head clears the heads ofadjacent rackets; the more the racket is lifted from the rack, the lesstwisting is needed for clearing adjacent rackets. Thus each individualracket is not only visible but also readily accessible to the customersand clerks without disturbing other rackets in the display.

The distance between the legs of adjacent bars is sufficient to supportthe lower part of the head of the racket with the center of gravity ofthe racket belowv the support point. If the bay is too narrow, somestyles of rackets will rest too high and may have a tendancy to tilt. Ifthe bay is too wide, there is a noticeable loss of display space withoutconcomitant benefit. In a preferred embodiment the distance betweenadjacent legs is about 1 inch which has been found optimum forsupporting most styles of tennis rackets.

FIG. 2 illustrates in fragmentary plan view another embodiment of tennisracket display rack constructed according to principles of thisinvention. As illustrated in this embodiment a main support member 26extends along the length of the rack in a horizontal direction,generally L-shaped bars 27 are spot welded to the support member 26 andthe base 28 of each of the L- shaped bars is spot welded to a midportion of the leg 29 of the adjacent bar, thus the interconnectionbetween adjacent L-shaped bars 27 and the support member 26 is the sameas that hereeinabove described and illustrated in FIG. 1.

Instead of a spherical bead on the end of the leg, the L-shaped bars 27in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 each have a hook 31 at the freeend. The hook connects the leg 29 with a short segment 32 terminating ina ball 33. The hook provides a small protrusion 34 into the mouth of thebay which serves to inhibit withdrawal of a racket from the bay insubstantially the same manner as the bead 21 in the embodiment ofFIG. 1. The short segment 32 and ball 33 also inhibit accidentaldislodging of a racket from the display rack.

FIG. 3 illustrates in fragmentary plan view another embodiment of tennisracket display rack constructed according to principles of thisinvention. As illustrated in this embodiment a horizontal support member41 extends along-the length of the display rack. As in the previouslydescribed embodiments a plurality of generally L-shaped bars 42 are spotwelded to the support member 41. The angle between the base 43 and leg44 of each of the bars is and they are welded to the support member 41at symmetrical 45 angles. The base 43 of each ofthe L-shaped barsunderlaps the leg 44 ofthe adjacent L-shaped bar and is spot weldedthereto. This embodiment however is different from the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1 in that the L-shaped bars are symmetrical. Thebase 43 of each bar extends beyond the end of the weld by a distanceequal to the extension of the leg 44 beyond the weld. The free ends ofthe bases 43 and legs 44 each terminate in a spherical bead 46. Thearray of adjacent L-shaped bars welded to the support member 42 forms asymmetrical array having a number of symmetrical racket support, bays 45between the bars and there is no longer a need for inverting the rack inorder to provide left and right handed displays. Each bay defined by theracket head support bars is closed at its end adjacent the support bar41 and is open in the opposite direction for passing the handle of theracket. Fixed perforated panel mounting brackets (not shown) can beconnected to the supporting member for holding the rack away from aconventional perforated panel. Rackets displayed on the rack can havetheir heads resting on the legs 44 of adjacent L-shaped bars andparallel to the bases 43 as illustrated by the phantom lines 47indicating in end view thee head of a tennis racket. The handle of theracket (not shown in this top view) drops down in the bay 45 between theadjacent legs 44. If desired for an opposite handed display the head ofthe racket can rest on the bases 43 of adjacent L-shaped bars and beparallel to the legs 44 as illustrated by the phantom lines 48representing the head of a racket.

Although limited embodiments of tennis racket display racks constructedaccording to principles of this invention have been described andillustrated herein,

many modifications and variations will be apparent to one skilled in theart. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of theappended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A tennis racket display rack comprising:

an elongated support member;

means for mounting the support member in a horizontal position;

a plurality of individual tennis racket support bays along the length ofthe support member for supporting the heads of a plurality of rackets,each support baybeing skewed relative to the length of the supportmember for supporting the heads of adjacent rackets parallel to eachother and offset from each other for exposing a portion of the face ofeach racket, each support bay being formed by:

a first generally L-shaped bar having a base and a leg angulatedrelative to the base and bonded at the crook of the L to the supportmember,

an adjacent second L-shaped bar having a base and a leg angulatedrelative to the base and bonded at the crook of the L to the supportmember,

the base of the first L-shaped bar being bonded to a mid portion of theleg of the second L-shaped bar, and

means at the end of the leg of one of the L-shaped bars for inhibitingremoval of a racket from the bay unless it is partly lifted from adisplay position within the bay.

2. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the meansfor inhibiting removal comprises an enlarged bead on the end of the legof the L-shaped bar.

3. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the meansfor inhibiting removal comprises a hook at the end of the leg of theL-shaped bar, including a segment normal to the length of the leg sothat the hook inhibits removal of a racket from one bay and the segmentinhibits removal of a racket from the adjacent ba 4 A tennis racketdisplay rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for inhibitingremoval comprises an extension of the base of the L-shaped bar beyondthe leg of the adjacent bar for forming a symmetrical bay.

' racket with the center of gravity of the racket below the L-shapedbars.

6. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 5 wherein the meansfor mounting comprises a plurality of perforated panel mounting bracketsspaced apart along the length of the rack; and

means for rotating each of the mounting brackets about an axis normal tothe support member.

7. A tennis racket display rack comprising:

an elongated support bar;

a plurality of mounting bars extending away from the support bar;

a perforated panel mounting bracket on the end of each of the mountingbars; and

a plurality of right angled L-shaped bars each having a base and a legangulated relative to the base and having the crook of the L bondedsymmetrically to the support member and having the base bonded to a midportion of the leg of the adjacent L-shaped bar for forming a pluralityof orthogonal racket supporting bays skewed at 45 along the length ofthe display rack, and wherein the distance between the legs of adjacentL-shaped bars is sufficient for supporting the head of a racket with thecenter of gravity of the racket below theL-shaped bars.

8. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 7 furthercomprising:

means at the end of the leg of each of the L-shaped bars for inhibitingremoval of a racket from the bay unless it is partly lifted from adisplay position within the bay.

9. A tennis racket display rack as defined in .claim 8 wherein the meansfor inhibitingremoval comprises an enlarged bead on the end of the legof the L-shaped bar.

10. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 9 furthercomprising means for rotating each of the perforated panel mountingbrackets about an axis nor mal to the support bar.

11. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 10 wherein themeans for rotating comprises:

a sleeve mounted on the mounting bar and including a threaded hole; andi an L-shaped bolt threaded into the sleeve and bonded to the perforatedpanel mounting bracket.

12. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 7 wherein the baseof each L-shaped bar includes an extension beyond a mid-portion of theleg of the adjacent bar for defining a symmetrical bay between the bars.

13. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 7 furthercomprising means for rotating each of the perforated mounting bracketsabout an axis normal to the support bar.

14. A tennis racket display rack comprising:

an elongated support bar;

a plurality of mounting bars extending laterally away from the supportbar on one side thereof;

a mounting bracket on the end of each of the mounting bars; and

a plurality of racket head support bars on the other side of theelongated support bar from the mounting bars and symmetrically bondedalong the length of the elongated support bar, adjacent racket supportbars having legs spaced apart a sufficient distance symmetrically 45from the elongated support bar and the mounting bars for supporting thehead of a tennis racket with the center of gravity of the racket belowthe racket head support bars whether the racket is skewed 45 relative tothe length of the display rack in either the right-hand or left-handdirection, said racket support bars collectively defining a plurality ofsymmetrical racket support bays along the length of the rack.

15. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 14 wherein eachracket support bar having a leg bonded to a leg of an adjacent racketsupport bar between its end and the bond to the elongated support bar,thereby defining four symmetrically arranged portions of the legs ofadjacent racket head support bars, each leg extending at 45 to thelength of the display rack, said leg-portions collectively defining eachracket support bay so that each bay is closed adjacent the elongatedsupport bar and open in the opposite direction for passing a rackethandle.

1. A tennis racket display rack comprising: an elongated support member;means for mounting the support member in a horizontal position; aplurality of individual tennis racket support bays along the length ofthe support member for supporting the heads of a plurality of rackets,each support bay being skewed relative to the length of the supportmember for supporting the heads of adjacent rackets parallel to eachother and offset from each other for exposing a portion of the face ofeach racket, each support bay being formed by: a first generallyL-shaped bar having a base and a leg angulated relative to the base andbonded at the crook of the L to the support member, an adjacent secondL-shaped bar having a base and a leg angulated relative to the base andbonded at the crook of the L to the support member, the base of thefirst L-shaped bar being bonded to a mid portion of the leg of thesecond L-shaped bar, and means at the end of the leg of one of theL-shaped bars for inhibiting removal of a racket from the bay unless itis partly lifted from a display position within the bay.
 2. A tennisracket display rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the means forinhibiting removal comprises an enlarged bead on the end of the leg ofthe L-shaped bar.
 3. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 1wherein the means for inhibiting removal comprises a hook at the end ofthe leg of the L-shaped bar, including a segment normal to the length ofthe leg so that the hook inhibits removal of a racket from one bay andthe segment inhibits removal of a racket from the adjacent bay.
 4. Atennis racket display rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the means forinhibiting removal comprises an extension of the base of the L-shapedbar beyond the leg of the adjacent bar for forming a symmetrical bay. 5.A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the distancebetween the legs of adjacent L-shaped bars is sufficient for supportingthe head of a racket with the center of gravity of the racket below theL-shaped bars.
 6. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 5wherein the means for mounting comprises a plurality of perforated panelmounting brackets spaced apart along the length of the rack; and meansfor rotating each of the mounting brackets about an axis normal to thesupport member.
 7. A tennis racket display rack comprising: an elongatedsupport bar; a plurality of mounting bars extending away from thesupport bar; a perforated panel mounting bracket on the end of each ofthe mounting bars; and a plurality of right angled L-shaped bars eachhaving a base and a leg angulated relative to the base and having thecrook of the L bonded symmetrically to the support member and having thebase bonded to a mid portion of the leg of the adjacent L-shaped bar forforming a plurality of orthogonal racket supporting bays skewed at 45*along the length of the display rack, and wherein the distance betweenthe legs of adjacent L-shaped bars is sufficient for supporting the headof a racket with the center of gravity of the racket below the L-shapedbars.
 8. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 7 furthercomprising: means at the end of the leg of each of the L-shaped bars forinhibiting removal of a racket from the bay unless it is partly liftedfrom a display position within the bay.
 9. A tennis racket display rackas defined in claim 8 wherein the means for inhibiting removal comprisesan enlarged bead on the end of the leg of the L-shaped bar.
 10. A tennisracket display rack as defined in claim 9 further comprising means forrotating each of the perforated panel mounting brackets about an axisnormal to the support bar.
 11. A tennis racket display rack as definedin claim 10 wherein the means for rotating comprises: a sleeve mountedon the mounting bar and including a threaded hole; and an L-shaped boltthreaded into the sleeve and bonded to the perforated panel mountingbracket.
 12. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 7 whereinthe base of each L-shaped bar includes an extension beyond a mid-portionof the leg of the adjacent bar for defining a symmetrical bay betweenthe bars.
 13. A tennis racket display rack as defined in claim 7 furthercomprising means for rotating each of the perforated mounting bracketsabout an axis normal to the support bar.
 14. A tennis racket displayrack comprising: an elongated support bar; a plurality of mounting barsextending laterally away from the support bar on one side thereof; amounting bracket on the end of each of the mounting bars; and aplurality of racket head support bars on the other side of the elongatedsupport bar from the mounting bars and symmetrically bonded along thelength of the elongated support bar, adjacent racket support bars havinglegs spaced apart a sufficient distance symmetrically 45* from theelongated support bar and the mounting bars for supporting the head of atennis rackeT with the center of gravity of the racket below the rackethead support bars whether the racket is skewed 45* relative to thelength of the display rack in either the right-hand or left-handdirection, said racket support bars collectively defining a plurality ofsymmetrical racket support bays along the length of the rack.
 15. Atennis racket display rack as defined in claim 14 wherein each racketsupport bar having a leg bonded to a leg of an adjacent racket supportbar between its end and the bond to the elongated support bar, therebydefining four symmetrically arranged portions of the legs of adjacentracket head support bars, each leg extending at 45* to the length of thedisplay rack, said leg portions collectively defining each racketsupport bay so that each bay is closed adjacent the elongated supportbar and open in the opposite direction for passing a racket handle.